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Russia releases list of unfriendly countries and makes a HUGE faux pas

The Russian government published a list of foreign countries it described as 'unfriendly' and risked angering a strong ally

The Kremlin raised eyebrows on Monday, Tuesday, after it placed Taiwan on its list of "unfriendly" nations despite Russia's close ties to China amid the Ukraine invasion. It's worth noting that China does not recognize Taiwanese independence and considers it part of the mainland.

The Russian government published a list of foreign countries it described as "unfriendly" nearly two weeks into Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The list came in response to the economic sanctions imposed on Russian oligarchs and financial institutions. According to the Washington Examiner, all corporate deals with the “unfriendly countries” featured in the list will now require government approval.

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Among the countries deemed "unfriendly" by Kremlin include Australia, Albania, Andorra, the United Kingdom, including Jersey, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, and Gibraltar, the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, San Marino, North Macedonia, Singapore, the United States, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, and Japan, according to a decree published on the government's website, Russian state media TASS reported. That said, the inclusion of Taiwan in the list is significant considering China and Russia announced a wide range of plans for economic and diplomatic cooperation just last month. The Chinese government has maintained that Taiwan is a part of its territory, despite the latter having its own government and the fact that Taiwan considers itself an independent nation.

Social media was intrigued by Russia inadvertently recognizing Taiwan as a country, separate from China. "Wait. That list includes Taiwan. Did the Russian Government officially recognize Taiwan as a separate country? Ohhhhh China won’t be happy," one tweeted. "I love that China is basically Russia's only friend, and even Russia still acknowledges that Taiwan is a separate country 🤣," another reacted. "So… Russia recognizes Taiwan as a sovereign nation separate from China? I wonder how China feels about that," someone else added. "Russia recognizing Taiwan as a separate country is cool, I guess. May as well just press all the buttons," another chimed in.

Last week, the US Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby accused China of giving Russia a "tacit approval" amid the invasion, which has displaced 1.7 million people, claimed 406 lives, and injured another 801, per the latest statistics from the United Nations released on Monday, March 7. “We’ve seen, basically, through statements some at least tacit approval by the Chinese for what Russia was doing,” Kirby said in a statement on Wednesday, March 2. “Now, in the last few days, some of their Foreign Ministry spokespeople have appeared to walk some of this back a little bit by talking about Ukrainian sovereignty, which is welcome to see. But we haven’t seen China join the list of countries that have enacted sanctions on Russia. We haven’t seen the Chinese blame Mr. Putin for the violence he is causing.”

Responding to the accusation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin argued that the US was responsible for the situation that led to the invasion of Ukraine. “The US has been spreading disinformation time and again and smearing China with the Ukraine issue,” Wang said in a statement. “Fabricating rumors to shirk one’s own responsibility is very hypocritical and despicable. Spreading disinformation cannot help the US shift its responsibility.” Meanwhile, European Union High Representative Josep Borrell has insisted that China “must” be the mediator between Russia and Ukraine, the Washington Examiner reported.